Treasury Secretary, and Managing Trustee, Jacob J. Lew, joined by members of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, speaks at the Treasury Department in Washington, Monday, July 28, 2014, during a news conference to discuss the release of the annual Trustees Reports. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) less

Treasury Secretary, and Managing Trustee, Jacob J. Lew, joined by members of the Social Security and Medicare Boards of Trustees, speaks at the Treasury Department in Washington, Monday, July 28, 2014, during ... more

Photo: Susan Walsh, Associated Press

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FILE - In this June 20, 2014, file photo, Rep. Dave Camp , R-Mich., at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. More families with higher incomes could claim the popular child tax credit under a bill that won approval Friday, July 25 in the House. "It is time we make some simple improvements to the child tax credit, so it keeps up with the cost of raising children," said Camp. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File) less

FILE - In this June 20, 2014, file photo, Rep. Dave Camp , R-Mich., at a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. More families with higher incomes could claim the popular child tax credit under a bill that won ... more

Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

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Social Security disability trust fund nears insolvency

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Washington --

Despite some good news, Medicare and Social Security still face long-term financial problems as millions of Baby Boomers reach retirement. Social Security's disability program is already in crisis as it edges toward the brink of insolvency.

Getting relief from a slowdown in health care spending, Medicare's giant hospital trust fund won't be exhausted until 2030, the government said Monday. That's four years later than last year's estimate.

As for Social Security, its massive retirement program will remain solvent until 2034. The disability trust fund, however, is slated to run dry in just two years. At that point, unless Congress acts, the program will collect only enough payroll taxes to pay 81 percent of benefits.

The trustees who oversee Social Security and Medicare issued their annual report Monday on the financial health of the government's two largest benefit programs. Together, they accounted for 41 percent of all federal spending last year.

Though both programs are "fundamentally secure," Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said, "the reports also remind us of something we all understand: We must reform these programs if we want to keep them sound for future generations."

There is little appetite in Congress to tackle such big issues. However, the longer Congress waits to act, the more difficult it will become to avoid either large tax increases or significant benefit cuts in both programs, said economist Charles Blahous III, one of two public trustees.